God Prays for Us.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Romans 8:26

http://bible.cc/romans/8-26.htm

Sometimes when I am grieving a loss or feeling depressed I think of this verse. I remember that even if I can't find the words to express my anguish - the Holy Spirit can. This amazes me: The thought that God through the Holy Spirit feels what I feel and understands completely. And not only understands, but intercedes and prays for me.

How and why this is done I do not know; but I believe it is so, and this gives me great comfort.

Rest.

Photo by : Photnart http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mossman_River_and_Gorge.JPG


Sometimes life is so busy and so full of demands I feel overwhelmed. I read these verses tonight and thought how I love the idea of rest. I feel like for the first thousand years in Heaven all I want to do is lay by a river and rest.

I know it won't be that way. I'll have tons of energy and there will be lots of things to see and do, but right now rest seems the best thing of all. Rest from shopping, cooking, driving, thinking, feelings. Yep, I want a rest.

There remaineth . . . a rest to the people of God.—My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.—There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.—They . . . rest from their labours.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.—In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Heb.4:9. -Isa.32:18. -Job 3:17. -Rev.14:13.Heb.6:20.Matt.11:28-30. -Isa.30:15.Psa.23:1,2.

http://christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/daily_light_on_the_daily_path/june_23_evening.htm

I Didn't Know He was There.

In Genesis 28 we read the story of how Jacob was sent away from home because he lied and deceived his father in order to have the birthright that belonged to Esau. Jacob must have felt guilty and ashamed as he traveled alone towards his uncle's house.

As he lay down on the ground the first night, God sent him a dream of a ladder reaching up to heaven. Angels were walking up and down on the ladder. God then spoke and told Jacob He would always be with him. In spite of what Jacob had done, God was with him - he knew Jacob's heart.

In his book," God is Closer Than You Think", John Ortberg writes, "The striking phrase of Jacob is, 'Surely the Lord was in this place and I was not aware of it.' Somehow he was looking in the wrong direction. Apparently it is possible for God to be present without the person recognizing that he is there. Apparently it is possible that God is closer than you think."

I was taught as a child that God leaves us when we sin. It was like there was a revolving door he would be coming in and going out of your life. I don't believe that any more. God is with me constantly, every second of every day. As long as I want him, that is as long as He is with me.

I Am Only One.

I am only one,
But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,
But I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Edward E. Hale: He published a wide variety of works in fiction, history and biography. He used his writings and the two magazines he founded, Old and New (1870–75) and Lend a Hand (1886–97), to advance a number of social reforms including religious tolerance, the abolition of slavery and education reforms. Wikipedia

I remember reading how a war correspondent said he saw a toddler alone and crying along side of the road the troops were traveling along. Everyone marched past the child. He said he wanted to help but decided that one act like that wouldn't help all the death and war around him. He walked on. Someone wrote the magazine and chided him by saying he could have saved that one life. Maybe it was only one life in a war that killed thousands - but one life means so much.

I've never forgotten that story. If we can't do something big; we can at least do something small. Even a smile to someone who we don't know can lift their hearts. Giving to the poor or doing volunteer work may seem like a drop in a bucket of woes, but drops turn into glasses of water.

Love for Those Who Attack Us.

"And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ." 
Philippians 1:9-10

I was reading today about the attack on our embassy and now riots in the Muslim world because of a movie one man made. I think to myself, "They are judging all of us by what one man has done." Then I thought, "It was easy for me to judge all Muslims by what a few did on September 11.

Our minds seem to generalize everything. My sister told me that is a defense mechanism - we find out a lion can kill so we believe all lions will kill - which is true. With people it is different. We are not to judge and condemn people; we are commanded to love them even when they do evil. Perhaps this is the hardest lesson to learn from God.

New International Version (©1984)
"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Luke 6:35

Psalm 139

Psalm 139:1-10


O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down.

You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely.

You hem me in - behind and before.

You have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is too lofty to attain.


Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me.
Your right hand will hold me fast.

Aging Parents.

I was reading an article on how a good parent is patient, loving and understanding of the needs of her baby. The writer went on to compare that  to how we will treat our aging, perhaps senile, parents. She said we should treat our parents as a loving mother treats her child.

Seeing one's parents grow old and perhaps become sick is a hard thing. 

My mother is now 85 and in pretty good health. She certainly has kept her sense of humor and is still sharp as a tack. I feel so lucky to still have her in my life. I realize that when I was a little baby she looked after all my needs and I intend to do that for her if she ever needs me.

Jesus made it clear that it was important to take care of your parents. In his time, there was a way to get out of this duty. One just had to take an oath that what he had was devoted to God.

 "...you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God),And so you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:11-12

Corban: a Hebrew word adopted into the Greek of the New Testament and left untranslated

It occurs only once (Mark 7:11). It means a gift or offering consecrated to God. Anything over which this word was once pronounced was irrevocably dedicated to the temple. Land, however, so dedicated might be redeemed before the year ofjubilee (Lev. 27:16-24).

Our Lord condemns the Pharisees for their false doctrine, inasmuch as by their traditions they had destroyed the commandment which requires children to honor their father and mother, teaching them to find excuse from helping their parents by the device of pronouncing “Corban” over their goods, thus reserving them to their own selfish use.

http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/corban.html

The book, "True Strength"

 

I just finished reading the book, "True Strength" by Kevin Sorbo. It is a wonderful book of how God helped him when he went through a harrowing medical crisis. By being humbled, he made a new commitment to God and the Lord blessed and helped him.

Your Word.

"Your word O Lord is eternal. It stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations. You established the earth and it endures." Psalm 119:89

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

"Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this; your promise preserves my life." Psalm 119:50

The words of God from the Bible give me strength and joy. His promises give me hope.